Thursday, July 12, 2012

Anniston is 9 Months!

Anniston,

You are 9 months old! Wow! This month has flown by and you have continued to grow and develop so much during this month. You now have 2 bottom teeth! They are not fully in yet but they are definitely noticable. They are so cute! I keep thinking we will see your top ones come in any day now because you sometimes seem to attack your toys- they go straight to your mouth and you drool all over everything. Hopefully they will come in soon!

At the end of last month you had just started to pull up- now you are pulling up on EVERYTHING! You are so much more stable now. You only have to hold on with one hand and these last few days you have stood without holding on for just a few seconds. You have taken some little falls that have resulted in a few bumps and bruises. Nothing real serious but it still makes me nervous!

You are not content for very long in your playpen because there is nothing in there to pull up on and it's just not enough space for you. You try to pull up on the sides of it and peek over the top to see what is going on. Daddy and I purchased a huge gate to surround your playmat in the living room so you would have a safe and contained area to play in. You seem to really like it. All of your toys are in there and we have two activity tables that you love to pull up on. Sometimes when you are cranky (teething, I suspect), or hungry you do not like for me to leave you in there. You like for me to sit in there to play with you. Sometimes I try to sit on the couch outside of the play area and you will pull up on the sides of the gate and look out through the bars. You fuss a little and give me a pitiful looking face so I usually end up coming in there to play with you. The first time we put the gate up you pulled yourself up and did a little "pull-up" and your feet came off the floor. Kay Kay and Poppy were over here and we were shocked you were strong enough to do that!

I let you crawl around the house plenty though, so you can explore things on your own. It doesn't take long before you are into something you shouldn't be! In the mornings, you love to sit in your walker in the bathroom and watch while I put on my makeup. You can manuever yourself around to open up drawers and try to grab some makeup of your own. You are a stinker! You seem to know what the word "no" means. Daddy or I will say it and you will stop and turn around and look at us. You don't always obey us but I think you are slowly comprehending the meaning of it.

You love to play peek-a-boo with me. You like it when I hide behind a wall or door and then peek my head around and say "Peek-a-boo!" You giggle and laugh and it's so fun! You love to "dance" to the music you play on your activity tables. You bounce up and down when it comes on and sometimes swing your arm up and down.

Going out to eat with you is so much fun- and easy! Many times you have been fussy in the afternoons and when we go out to a restaurant later that night you instantly get in a better mood. You love looking around at all the people and eating at the table with us.

We have cut out one of your bottles this month. You now will take 4 oz of milk in the morning along with your baby food, a 4 oz bottle about 9:30 am, baby food and water at lunch, a 6 oz bottle at 2:30 or 3:00, baby food and water at 5:30, and a 6 oz bottle at 7:00 pm. You love to eat crunchy things. You have really been loving the different flavors of puffs I give you. They are easy for you to pick up and you love to "chew" them. We've also tried cut up tomatoes, avocados, and cheese.

Sleeping has been very consistent this month. You go to bed around 7:30 pm and will wake up usually only once per night. You have been much better about sleeping until 5 am- many mornings we have slept until 5:30 or 6 am! Since your teeth have been bothering you lately, I sometimes put you in bed with us when you wake during the middle of the night. I love to snuggle with you and you seem to generally sleep a little longer in the mornings when you are in bed with me.

You have become a little more attached to me during this month. You cry or fuss when I walk out of the room sometimes and are very clingy when you are tired or cranky. You are really good about letting other people hold you and play with you though. You smile back at anyone who smiles at you and are so friendly! I hope you stay that way.

We have had so much fun this month and I love spending time with you. You are developing your own personality and I have so much fun watching you grow and learn to do new things. I cannot imagine it getting much better than this!